Adjustable and foldable canopy



Nov. 20, 1956 A. L. DOBBINS ADJUSTABLE AND FOLDABLE CANOPY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6. 1954 INVENTOR Nov. 20, 1956 A. L. DQBBINS' 2,771,125

ADJUSTABLE AND FOLDABLE CANOPY Filed April 6. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m2 M m 7 32 x 56 76 INVENTOR United States Patent 2,771,125 ADJUSTABLE AND FOLDABLE CANOPY Albert L. Dobbins, Kansas City, Mo.

Application April 6, 1954, Serial No. 421,318

1 Claim. (Cl. 155-154) This invention relates to improvements in outdoor shelters or shade canopies of the type utilized to give proper support to the back of the occupant, while shielding and shelteringthe occupantfrom the sun.

This invention is especially useful in environments such as beaches and river banks for bathers and fishermen and has for its primary object to provide a chair which is equipped with means for adjustably anchoring it in the ground and with means for releasably fixing it in different angular positions.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible back rest and supporting frame which is easily converted from a collapsed state to an open position and which is equipped with cushioning means and with means for shading and sheltering an occupant.

Other objects of this invention are to provide a supporting frame for a single flexible member, which forms the shelter, back rest and seat, the frame including a plurality of frame members and novel means for securing the frame members together.

These and ancillary objects and structural features of merit are attained by this invention, the preferred embodiments of which are set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Where- In:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the chair device;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the supporting frame;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the device in a raised or operative position;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the invention in a collapsed position and illustrating the manner of folding the same;

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective View of one form of joint for joining the frame members together;

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of another form of the joint; and,

Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of an additional form of the joint structure.

Like characters of reference are used to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, attention is initially directed to Figures 1 through 5, where the chair device 10 is illustrated in detail, the same including a metallic supporting frame 12 and an elongated single piece of flexible material 14, such as canvas, durable plastic and the like.

The frame 12 includes a top structure formed from a pair of side bars 16 which are disposed in spaced apart parallel relation and connected at their adjoining ends by a front rod 18 and a back rod 20. The side bars 16 are formed with enlarged journal eyes 22 and 24, the eyes 22 being in transverse alignment and the eyes 24 being also similarly aligned. The rod 18 has its ends journaled in the eyes 22 and the rod has its ends journaled in the aligned eyes 24 as illustrated in Figure 5.

A back rest frame is provided and includes a pair of bars 32 which have upper offset eye terminals 36 and lower eye ends 40. The ends 40 receive a tubular cross bar 44, which is arranged cooperatively with the rod 20 for supporting the flexible material 14 and which has its ends mounted and suitably held in the eyes the bars 32 being rotatable about the cross bar 44.

Means are provided for securing the upper offset eye terminals 36 of the bars 32 on the ends of the back rod 20 as is illustrated in detail in Figure 5. The ends of the rod 20 are formed with annular shoulders 46 and, outwardly from the shoulders, transverse openings 48 are formed in the rod ends. The ends are disposed in the mating eyes 36 and 24 of the bars 32 and the bars 16 respectively, and the shoulders 46 are spaced from the eyes 24 and 36 by spacer sleeves 52, which are positioned on the rod ends. Pins 54 are disposed in the openings 48 and lock the eyes on the ends of the rod 20.

A rear set of supporting standards 56 are provided and a similar front set of standards 60 are provided for holding the back frame in various angular raised positions relative to the ground surface and for supporting the top structure in a horizontal plane paralleling the ground surface. Each of the standards of the rear set is formed with upper eye terminals 64 and with lower pointed ground piercing ends 66 and each of the front standards is provided withupper longitudinally offset eye terminals 68 and lower pointed ends 70.

As shown in Figure 5, the upper eyes 64 of the standards 56 are rotatably attached to the eyes 72 formed on the terminating portions of the side bars 16. The eyes 72 are spaced rearwardly from the eyes 24 and are connected thereto by downwardly curved integral portions 76. Headed coupling pins 78 are inserted through the mating eyes of the standards 56 and the eyes 72 and are spaced from the eyes 72 and 64 by spacer sleeves 80', with washers 82 spacing the mating eyes apart and locking pins 84 being disposed through transverse openings in the pins 78.

The eyes 68 on the front standards 60 are similarly rotatably coupled by the pins 86 to the eyes 88 on the downwardly curved front portions 92 of the bars 16.

The flexible member 14 is elongated and of a rectangular shape, with one end 94 being secured in any suitable manner, on the front rod 18 and the member being entrained over the rod 20 and suitably secured to the cross bar 44. The portion 96 of the member which covers the space between the side bars 16 forms a canopy or awning to shelter an occupant seated therebeneath and the portion 98 which extends between the rod 20 and bar 44 forms a back rest. The member is loosely extended forwardly from the cross bar 44 and defines a ground engaging seat portion 100, on which a cushion 102 is superposed with the rear edge of the cushion adjoining the bar 44.

It can be seen that the angle of inclination of the top structure from a horizontal plane is adjustably controlled by the position of the front standards 60, so that the canopy 96 may be inclined downwardly by extending the standards 60 forwardly of the rod 18 and may be held in a horizontal position by disposing the standards 60 perpendicularly to the ground surface, with the eyes 68 on the standards rotating about the coupling pins 86. Similarly the back rest is adjustable, the bars 32 rotating on the bar 44 and 20 and the standards 56 rotating at their upper ends about the coupling pins 78. The back rest is thus easily moved into different inclined positions, either rearwardly or forwardly of the bar 44, which lies slightly above and parallel to the ground. The frame will always be stable and held in a tight supporting raised position, due to the ground anchored lower ends of the standards, but, upon releasing the ends from the ground, the frame may be easily collapsed as seen in Figure 4.

In collapsing and folding the chair device 10, the standards are pulled out of the ground and are rotated about the pins '78 to bring the standards alongside the bars 16 which are placed flat on the ground. The standards 60 are disposed similarly as the standards 56 and the top structure is folded onto the back frame.

In Figures 6 and 7, modified forms of joints are shown, these forms being employed when wooden rods or bars are used to form the frame instead of metal bars as in the frame 12.

In Figure 6 the side bare 104 of the top structure is formed adjacent its rear end with a vertical opening 106 for receiving a depending pin 108 carried by the back cross bar 110, which corresponds to the bar or rod 20. A rod 112, corresponding to the bar 32 is pivoted by a pin 114 to the side bar 104, along with a standard 116.

In Figure 7 the cross bar 118 is rotatably journaled in a transverse opening 120 in the side bar 122 and held therein by a pin 124 and a similar pin 126, these pins being disposed at the opposite sides of the side bar. The bar 130 of the back rest frame and the standard 132 are commonly pivoted on the side bar by a pivot pin 134.

Although in the foregoing there have been described and shown various difierent embodiments of the invention, other modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to the disclosure, but various modifications may be resorted to such as may lie Within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed An adjustable and foldable canopy, comprising in combination a frame consisting of a pair of transversely spaced rigid top members having front and rear ends, front and rear cross members connected to and extending between the respective front and rear end portions of said top members, front and rear pairs of downwardly extending legs pivotally attached at their upper ends to the respective front and rear ends of the top members and having pointed lower end portions adapted for insertion in the ground, the front and rear legs in each pair being mutually downwardly divergent and movable toward and away from each other whereby the height and angularity of said top members relative to the ground may be adjusted, a pair of side members having upper ends pivotally attached to the rear end portions of said top members, lower ends of said side members being adapted to rest on the ground in an adjusted relation to the top members, a cross piece connected to and extending between the lower ends of said side members, and an elongated sheet of flexible material anchored at one end thereof to the front cross member, said sheet extending continuously over the rear cross member and under said cross piece and forwardly of the latter, whereby to constitute the top and the back and the bottom of the canopy.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,785,953 Hanan Dec. 23, 1930 1,827,477 Kotausek Oct. 13, 1931 1,845,814 Reis Feb. 16, 1932 2,109,881 Goldberg Mar. 1, 1938 2,190,566 Julian Feb. 13, 1940 2,290,786 Varady July 21, 1942 2,394,245 Keller Feb. 5, 1946 2,543,597 Peery Feb. 27, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 156,342 Great Britain Ian. 13, 1921 379,524 Italy Mar. 28, 1940 772,957 France Aug. 25, 1934 

